South Dakota Investment Council Acquires 103,129 Shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG)

South Dakota Investment Council raised its stake in Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 92.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 215,122 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 103,129 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council's holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $5,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAG. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 182.0% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 46,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,291,000 after acquiring an additional 30,035 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 65,680 shares of the company's stock worth $1,823,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 42,081 shares of the company's stock worth $1,168,000 after acquiring an additional 4,118 shares in the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. bought a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,173,000. Finally, Summit Global Investments bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $6,713,000. 83.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Stock Up 3.5%

NYSE CAG traded up $0.66 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $19.41. 7,827,731 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,153,183. Conagra Brands has a 1 year low of $18.67 and a 1 year high of $33.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $9.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $21.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.13.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $2,781,800 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.88 billion. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 9.92%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.21%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $21.00 price target on Conagra Brands and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Conagra Brands from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Conagra Brands from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Conagra Brands currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.58.

About Conagra Brands

Conagra Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer packaged goods food company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Grocery & Snacks, Refrigerated & Frozen, International, and Foodservice segments. The Grocery & Snacks segment primarily offers shelf stable food products through various retail channels.